Fire escape



Dec. 7, 1937. P, v. DELLA SANTINA ET AL 2,101,053

FIRE ESCAPE Filed March 18, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet l 135, 61 im \\\1| \f:\ 1|

Allin l 1" A T TORNEY.

De 7, 1937- P. v. DELLA sANTiNA ET AL.` 2,109053 FIRE ES CAPE Filed March 18, 195'5 s sheets-sheet 2 INI EXTOR 7900A/ DELLA ASANTINA ET AL 21,101,053

FIRE ESCAPE Dec. 7, 1937. P. v,

` 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 18, 1935 Patented Dec. 7, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFIQE FIRE ESCAPE Application March 18, 1935, Serial No. 11,640

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a fire escape and especially to means for lowering and extending a stairway or ladder from the lowermost balcony of a re escape to the sidewalk.

Most buildings, which are equipped with exterior fire escapes, are provided with a balcony foreach floor of the building and with permanent stairs or ladders between the balconies so that persons escaping from'the burning building can climb down from one balcony to another until the lowermost balcony is reached. No stairway or ladder is usually provided between the lowermost balcony and the sidewalk as thieves or other unauthorized individuals would have' free access to the building; hence it is general practice to await the arrival of the fire department, or in other words depend upon ladders erected by the iiremen to insure final escape.

Auxiliary ladders,'which are normally held in a raised position and which may be lowered from the lowermost balcony to the sidewalk, have been employed but the installation of such ladders has been expensive and the mechanism, due to infrequent use and exposure to weather, rusts,

sticks, jams, and otherwise gets out of order and Y when actually needed it is often found inoperative.

The object of the present inventionA is generally to improve and simplify the construction and operation of fire escapes; to provide an auxiliary stairway or ladder for the lowermostbalcony which is normally held in a raised position but which may be lowered when needed; to provide means for manually or automatically releasing or lowering said ladder in the event of a fire, or other- Wise; to provide a ioldable hand rail for the ladder which is automatically extended vduring Y the lowering of the ladder; to provide means for automatically extending orA tilting thev ladder when it is lowered so that infirm or elderly individuals can descend with greater safety and ease; and, further.. to provide a mechanism for supporting and retaining the ladder in raised position and for releasing it when needed which is simple and compact in construction and not liable kto stick, rust, or otherwise become inoperative. l The'reescape is shown by way of illustration inthe accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a pair of lire balconies, showing the auxiliary ladder, which connects the lowermost balcony with the sidewalk, supported in a raised position;

Fig. 2 is ,a similar view showingr the auxiliary (Cl. 22S-17.3)

ladder and stairway lowered to the sidewalk and ready for use;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the ladder raising, lowering and governing mechanism;

Fig. 4 is an end view of the same partially in section;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged side elevation of the auxiliary ladder showing it partially lowered;

Fig. 6 is a similar side elevation showing the ladder fully lowered and the hand rail extended l0 ready for use;

Fig. 7 is a side elevation similar to Figs. 5 and 6, but showing the ladder in raised position;

Figs. 8 and 9 are detail side elevations showing the different positions assumed by the ladder -15 supporting latch;

Fig. 10 is a plan view in section of the mechanism shown in Fig. 7;

Fig. 11 is a Vertical section of the gear pump housing; 2()

Fig. 12 is a horizontal section on line XII-XII of Fig. 11.

Referring to the drawings in detail, and particularly Figs. 1 and 2, A and B indicate standard forms of balconies such as used in conjunction 255 with re escapes secured on the exterior face of a building. There is usually one balcony for each floor accessible from hallways and the like and permanent stairways or ladders C connect the balconies so that persons escaping from a burn- 30 ing building can climb down from one balcony to another until the lowermost balcony is reached.

In the present instance escape from the lowermost balcony to the street is insured by the use of an auxiliary stairway or ladder, indic-ated'at 35 D, this ladder being normally held in the raised or elevated position as shown in Fig. 1 and being lowered to the sidewalk, or the position shown in Fig. 2, when actually needed. The manner of supporting the auxiliary ladder in raised posi- 40 tion and the mechanism for lowering the samer will now be described.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, E indicates the housing of a standard form of gear pump. Gears 2 and 3 are journaled in the pump and a by-pass 45 3 is secured on the shaft which extends through 50 one side of the pump housing and this shaft is provided with a hand crank 6, whereby it may be f rotated. Gear 2 is secured on the shaft l, which extends through the opposite side of the pump housing, and is journaled in the frame 8 secured 55 building are often in a hysterical or excited condito step on the foot plate andY therebytrip the to the balcony B as shown. Mounted on the shaft 1 and secured thereto are `a pair of drums 9 and wound about the drums and secured to the upper end of the auxiliary ladder D are a pair of wire cables, or the like, indicated at IIl--IIL When the ladder assumes the lowered position shown in Fig. 2 and it is desired to raise it, it is only necessary to rotate the gear 3 by means of the crank 6. Such rotational movement will be transmitted to the gear 2 and the shaft 1 and the drums 9 will thus be rotated in a direction to lift or elevate the ladder and when it is fully raised it is secured by means of a latch generally indicated at I I, see Figs. 7, 8, and 9. This latch is pivotally` supported in the bracket I2 `secured to and forming a part of the lower balcony A;

Free rotation of the gears is insured during raising of the stairway as valve 5 is pivotally mounted on the inner end of an adjustable screw 5a., see Figs. 11 and l2, The oil flow through the passage 4 isagainst thel upperface of the` valve when the stairway is raised, hence causing the valve to, open. On theother hand when theladder is released for the purpose of lowering the same, theoil ow will bein theopposite direction and valve 5 will close. By adjusting the screw valve 5a the valve may be positioned tov only partially cover the passage 4, as shown inv Fig. 12. The oil flow, accordingly, is restricted and the speed with which the ladder is,lowered`may be regulated and controlled, the

regulation being taken care of at the time of installation. Y

The latch VII normally assumes the position shown in Fig. 9, when released, but when raised `assu/Ines the position shown in Figq? andV it is held in the raised position by the end of a trip armvISythat is, latch II terminates in a square shoulder I4 at its inner end and a finger I 5 at its outer end., When the latchl is raised to a horizon- ,tal position, as shown in Fig. '1, and the trip lever I3 assumes the position shown in Fig. 7, thepivotal movement of the latch is prevented and the ladder -will be supported in raised position as the ngerof Vthe latch engages a pin I 6 on the ladder Aand thus'support's it. The trip lever is pivoted at "`I1. and is provided with `a footv plate I8 which,

when-stepped upon, causes depression of that end of .the trip lever and raising of the opposite end ythe ladder does not drop withI too great a forceY and speed.

Release of the ladder to permit lowering ofthe same should obviously be automatically accomplished asindividuals escaping from a burning tion. In the present instance automatic release of the ladderis accomplished by placing the `foot plate Iatthe bottom of the stairway C, so that the rst individual climbing down the ladder is bound latch and cause descent of the ladder. ,IfV lfor any reasonindividuals should step over the foot plate and the trip lever should not be actuated, a hand operated-or manual release in the form vof a lever 2Ilfis provided. This lever'is also pivoted to the bracket I2 and it terminates in a crank end 2I which extends in under Vthe endof thetriplever. Y Hence, Vby grasping lthelever 2li andv svi/inging it to the position .shown in Fig. 8; ftheg.

crank end 2l will engage the underside of the trip lever I3 and raise it to the position shown thus again removing the latch I I and permitting descent of the ladder.

The ladder is provided with a pair of hand rails 24, such as shown, which are normally folded flush against the ladder when it is in the position shown in Fig. 5. Means are provided for guiding the lower end of the ladder during its descent and for automatically extending or raising the hand rail and also for tilting or swinging the ladder outwardly so that it will assume an inclined position as shown in Fig. 6, when fully lowered. This is accomplished as follows.

Pivotally mounted as at 26 on the lower balcony A-'is'a pair of 'guide members 21 which are substantially channel-shaped in cross section, see Fig..10. The side rails of the ladder are guided in the member 21 and one of the risers or posts supporting the hand rails, indicated at 28, will enga-gev theguideV members as the. ladder reaches its lowermost position.; The risersV supporting the hand rails are pivoted both tov theV handv rails and the side rails of the ladder, as shown at 29,.and.

when the riser 28 engagesthe upper end cf the guide members 21 they lwill assume the position shown .at `2E in Fig. 6,thus raising the hand rails and supporting them inthat position.

The means for tilting the ladder is best shown in Figs. 5 and 6 andconsists of oneor more rods 3|)i pivoted to the side rails of the ladder asV shown at 3L As the ladder reaches the position shown in Fig. Y, 5 Vthe endsof; the rods will engage the sidewalk or street andas `they assume an. inclined position the ladder will swing forwardly. in the All the mechanism here described is simple and substantial in; Y construction; No mechanism l is employed which is liable to, stick, rust, or jam, and

otherwise get out of order and as the governing mechanism is completely filled with oil` and sealed, rusting of the parts ofthe pump or the parts actuated thereby is very unlikely.

Y While these and other featureshave been more orless specifically described, we wish it understood -thatrvarious changes may be resorted to within the scope of the` appended claims. Simi,-

larly, that the materials and finish-of the severalA parts employed may be such as the manufacturer may. decide, or varying conditions or usesV may demandl ,Having Vthusfdescribed our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent iszilg'Inia re escape a'balcony, a ladder carried by the balcony and vertically mgovable t'o raise or lower the same, `a latch supporting the ladder in raised position, said latch beingpivotally secured to the balconyga shoulder on the latchV in alignment with' thepivot, andY on the side opposite the latch a pivoteditrip lever mounted at right.`

angles to the'latch'pivot, said lever having oneV endA in normal engagement with the shoulder on the latch to Aholdv thelatch against pivotal move= ment, and means on the opposite end ofthe trip lever for-manually raisingA theV first-namedend of Y the lever out of engagementwiththe shoulder on the latch to release the latch 2. In a fire escape a balcony, a ladder carried bythe balcony and vertically'movable to raise or lowerthe same, a pair of guide members pivotally coirvr secured to the balcony'b'etweenwhich-the ladder 75';

is guided, means normally supporting the ladder in a raised position, means for releasing the support to lower the ladder between the guide members, and means carried by the ladder and cooperating with the pivoted guide members for swinging the lower end of the ladder outwardly to assume an inclined position as it reaches its lowered position.

3. In a re escape a balcony, a ladder carried by the balcony and vertically movable to raise or lower the same, a pair of guide members pivotally secured to the balcony between which the ladder is guided, means normally supporting the ladder in a raised position, means for releasing the support to lower the ladder between the guide members, and a pair of rods pivotally attached to the lower end of the ladder and projecting below the same, said rods engaging the surface against which the ladder is being lowered and swinging the lower end of the ladder outwardly to assume an inclined position as it reaches its loweredposit-ion.

4. The combination with a ladder of the character described and a pair of pivoted members for guiding the ladder when lowering the same, of means carried by the ladder and cooperating with the pivoted guide members for swinging the lower end of the ladder outwardly to assume an inclined position as it reaches its lowered position, said means comprising a pair of rods pivotally attached to the lower end of the ladder and projecting below the same, said rods engaging the surface against which the ladder is being lowered and swinging the lower end of the ladder outwardly.

5. The combination with a ladder of the character described and a pair of pivoted members for guiding the ladder when lowering the same, of a pair of hand rails carried by the ladder, a pair of bars for each hand rail, said bars being pivoted to the ladder and to the hand rails whereby the hand rails and bars are foldable against the ladder,'one of each of said pairs of bars being engageable with the pivoted guide members during lowering of the ladder and being automatically swung about their pivots to bring the hand rails i to an extended position.

6. In a re escape a balcony, a ladder carried by the balcony and vertically movable to raise or lower the same, a pair of guide members onV the balcony between which the ladder is guided, means normally supporting the ladder in a raised position, means for releasing. the support to lower the ladder between the guide members, and a pair of rods pivotally att-ached to the lower end of the ladder and projecting below the same, said rods engaging the surface against which the ladder is being lowered and swinging the lower end of the ladder outwardly to assume an inclined position l as it reaches its lowered position. Y 

